Texas Tech Football Preseason Practice 10 Recap

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury spoke to the media and he spoke for a really long time, about 7:49 and that’s great for you and I. Below is the non-transcript.

Kliff Kingsbury:

. . . [Players who stood out during the scrimmage] Justin Stockton ran really well, Desmond Nisby I thought protected the ball well, Vaughnte Dorsey has been showing hitting people, Broderick Washington had a nice scrimmage, Nick McCann did well for his debut in fall scrimmage

. . . [Status of Desmond Nisby and getting acclimated] Nisby was a little late, needed to get him conditioned and after that he was a full go. We have really simplified what he has right now, we throw the ball to the backs a lot and he has to work on that and blocking.

. . . [Yesterday, August 9th was Kingsbury’s birthday] They sang happy birthday to me, it was okay, took up some meeting time. 34 for the 4th year in a low, I’ve heard 40 mentioned a few times, but we’re not there yet.

. . . [Kingsbury’s birthday always being during preseason practice] I’ve never had a good one, it’s bee a long time since I indulged in anything.

. . . [Status of Tre King and DeMarcus Felton] I think we may hold them out in the scrimmage, when we get back to practice, and by Monday, same thing with Antoine Wesley and Eli Howard.

. . . I think it’s more to be smart and give them a day off and break up the monotony, we’re trying to be smart and have hard days and back off, I think 25 is probably the total number of practices.

. . . [On Luke Gonsioroski] I think it’s been a sobering experience, Luke is an unbelievable young man, just texting with him the last couple of weeks, had no idea he was in bad of a shape, never knew he was in hospice care, he always said that “God’s got me” and “I’m doing good, coach, I hope you’re doing well.” We talked about his story yesterday and you appreciate everything you have and puts it in perspective.

. . . [On Nic Shimonek] He’s got a lot of determination and perseverance, I’ve said it a lot, the last four quarterbacks he’s played behind have been drafted and he feels like it is his time to show how good he is, I’m really enjoying working with him.

. . . [On McLane Carter] Not bad, he’s kind of a gamer, he can extend plays, he’s still learning the system, I have to be careful what I give him, when he knows what to do, he’s very effective, when I put too much on his plate early, which I’ve done, we’ve struggled a little bit.

. . . [If Jett Duffey will scrimmage on Saturday] Jett wouldn’t he’s got to get acclimated, I feel comfortable with where we’re headed, McLane, Jett he has to get back in the groove, we’ll have a few weeks with him, I feel comfortable that we’ll have a guy we’re comfortable with.

. . . [If Payne Sullins still in the mix] Yeah, Payne has done a good job, we know what we have with Payne, we’re trying to force feed things with McLane.

. . . [On Patrick Mahomes] I talk with Mike Smith, I talked with him yesterday, he has such natural ability, he makes plays very humans can. I’m hoping, Aaron Rogers had to sit for a while, the sky is the limit with Pat and his potential.

A-J Media’s Don Williams has a notebook with news that Kaleb Hill has left the team to focus on academics. Kaleb’s twin brother is still on the team, Kolin and is fighting for that rush defensive end spot. QB Nic Shimonek talks about Desmond Nisby, who said that Nisby is 250 pounds and that JoJo Robinson is acclimating very quickly, and Quan Shorts and De’Quan Bowman are both playing very well.

Willies finally feels at-ease inside of the Tech offense, often spread out wide and left in his X receiver role. He’s had a full year to get the system under his belt, and now he’s trying to diversify himself even more by learning the inside H and Y positions, too.

“I really felt a lot more comfortable in this offense after the spring, really just with knowing what I was doing. Over the summer I’ve really been trying to learn the other receivers positions to move around a little bit. I just feel a lot more comfortable now in this offense.”

RedRaiderSports’ Brandon Soliz has his post-practice recap of the coach and player availability, including talking with Talor Nunez, Kisean Allen and Nic Shimonek. Shimonek said that he would do something in honor of Luke Gonsioroski’s death each and every game:

“Whenever he came in the spring and I talked to him, you would’ve never known anything was wrong with him. Great kid, obviously. Wish he could’ve came here. He could’ve definitely helped us. At least from a mental standpoint … we could all learn something from him, and I’m going to try and do something every single game … in his honor.”

A-J Media’s Don Williams has more on the back-up quarterback competition, which is really focused on McLane Carter and Jett Duffey.